Who is Diplo?
Diplo is an American DJ producer and songwriter with a staggering net worth of over $36,000,000. His real name is Thomas Pentz, and he is best known for co-creating the dance hall music group Major Lazer. It includes Sia and Labyrinth. For numerous years, Diplo has also collaborated with other artists, including Mark Ronson and Skrillex.
After his stardom, Mark became an incredibly sought-after DJ in the music community. Various artists have collaborated with him in the past, including Britney Spears and Justin Bieber. He got his unique nickname after Diplodocus, which is a reference to his childhood fascination with dinosaurs. Apart from becoming a DJ, Pentz also runs his own record company he dubbed Mad Decent and a nonprofit organization he lovingly calls Heaps Decent.
The Early Life of Thomas Pentz
Diplo is a Scorpion born on November 10, 1978, in the state of Mississippi. He was raised in a family with German and English roots. Pentz spent the majority of his childhood years in Miami. During his teen years, Mark was exposed to the city’s distinct musical style, including local rap and the hip-hop subgenre that became known as Miami Bass.
After finishing high school, Pentz attended the University of Central Florida. During his college years, he took a side job as a DJ for a local radio station. Eventually, Diplo decided to transfer to Philadelphia at Temple University. He started to become more successful musically and renowned as a DJ after collaborating with DJ Low budget. Their collaboration included throwing parties in Philadelphia.
DJ producer and songwriter, Diplo.
Diplo’s Career
Diplo and DJ Low budget started releasing their mixtapes in the early part of 2000. They embarked on duo and separate ventures. They continued hosting parties frequently for celebs such as Mia and Bun B. Both Diplo and Low budget became well-known throughout the local and national arena. Diplo’s efforts eventually culminated in a debut solo album he dubbed Florida. It was released via Big Nada records. Florida has sexy nightclub influenced sounds.
To get the ball rolling of his success further, Diplo then constructed his studio called the mausoleum. It included a video studio recording studio as well as record label offices. It even has a gallery and area to host events. In the following years, the mausoleum will host artists such as Shakira and Santigold, and many others.
Although Diplo is becoming successful, he only emerged into international stardom after collaborating with MIA. After hearing one of his tunes, MIA approached Diplo with plans to collaborate on a mixtape. It resulted in a record called Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1. Eventual collaborations followed, which helped Diplo and his creative partners DJ Switch and Mia become Grammy nominated for the track, Paper planes.
After exposure, Diplo had little challenge working with numerous other popular artists. The next phase saw him join forces with high-powered artists such as Bruno Mars, Kid Cudi, and many more. During this phase, he established his Mad Decent label and toured with Steve Aoki in China.
